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Bali’s local government and an environmental group on Friday launched a handbook to raise awareness of biodiversity conservation efforts in the Nusa Penida marine park.

The Nusa Penida Profile Book, launched in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, highlights the biodiversity of the 20,000-hectare marine conservation area established in 2010.

The area supports a diverse array of species, including 296 types of coral and 576 species of fish, five of them newly discovered while carrying out research for the handbook. 

The Nusa Penida conservation area also supports 1,419 hectares of coral reefs, 203 hectares of mangrove forests and 108 hectares of sea grass.

Riyanto Basuki, the book’s author and head of regional conservation at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said the starting point for conservation was to first identify the area’s assets.

“Its three main assets are coral reefs, sea life and sea grass, and mangroves,” Riyanto said, adding these would the main focus of conservation efforts.

He added that authorities would refer to the book to determine where the core zone of the conservation area could lie, where no fishing or other forms of exploitation would be permitted.

Ideally, Riyanto said, 10 percent of the total conservation area should be made the core zone.

Marthen Welly, the TNC project leader for Nusa Penida, said the term “conservation area” was commonly misunderstood by people who believed it meant “off-limits.”

“That’s a misconception,” he said. “Conservation areas are still accessible and fishermen can still fish there, but they must not use devices that damage the environment.”

He added that TNC was working with villagers to discuss the boundaries for the core zone. 

“We need to completely involve the local people on this issue,” he said.

Nusa Penida is home to manta rays, dolphins and the iconic Mola-Mola, or ocean sunfish, which can be spotted in the area between July and September.

“With all that potential, marine tourism in Nusa Penida is expected to increase,” Klungkung district deputy head Cokorda Gde Agung said at the book launch.

“It’s also why we need to work with other parties to develop the various zones within the area.”

The conservation area is part of the Coral Triangle, considered the world’s richest underwater wilderness which stretches across six nations between the Indian and Pacific oceans, running through Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

The Coral Triangle Initiative, which was established in 2007, calls for stronger international cooperation to combat illegal fishing and environmental destruction in the underwater area half the size of the United States and home to half the world’s coral reefs.